Eryca Liskovec

ARC Review:

I could not put down the first book, Bound By Wishes, and this book was much the same! It was an excellent and satisfying conclusion to this duology. The beginning was dark, bleak, and heartbreaking, but, honestly, it had to be based on how the first book ended. Caleena was forced to find her strength in her pursuit of truth and justice, and Ranen was forced to fight the shadows that owned him and the weight of his upbringing. And for what felt like a long time, Ranen seemed to be losing his fight.

And yet, Caleena was his moon and guiding star, and he made the hard choices, and truly grew into the partner she needed and deserved. Caleena herself was one of my favorite FMCs - still struggling sometimes, but finding her power and her voice and never compromising who she is. The only character I really had an issue with was Malik, her best friend, who at times seemed to be the friend he was supposed to be, and at other times, he seemed to be a toxic friend, blaming her for things out of her control and threatening to leave without actually doing anything, which did nothing but leave Caleena consumed with guilt.

There's a lot more I could say, but I'll end with this: There were some twists I definitely wasn't expecting, and it turned into an incredibly beautiful ending to an amazing story. I look forward to revisiting Caleena and Ranen :)